The National Archives’ leads and transforms information management across government. 1 Commencement of Information Management Assessments

1.1 This document details the majority of the assessment or verification processes to be followed in conducting an information management assessment (IMA).

1.2 The requisite notice period for the start of the on-site assessment will be as in the IMA programme. In exceptional circumstances the date may be varied with agreement from both parties.

1.3 Any proposed changes to the dates of the IMA must then be agreed with the Standards and Assessment Manager, Head of Standards and the relevant Senior Management of the subject organisation.

1.4 Completion of the pre-assessment questionnaire is a prerequisite of the IMA. In cases of spot audits this requirement may be waived.

1.5 The Standards and Assessment Manager and the representative of the subject organisation will agree the scope of the IMA.

1.6 The assessment will be conducted with regard to the agreed individual Terms of Reference document.

2 Liaison

2.1 Prior to, during and after the on-site visit, there will be ongoing liaison and links between The National Archives IMA team and the agreed representative from the organisation being assessed.

2.2 Any serious or major concerns that are identified at the time of the on-site visit may be raised with the departmental representative and Senior Management as soon as is practical.

3 Methodology

3.1 A pre-assessment risk questionnaire is to be completed by the organisation for analysis prior to the on-site assessment.

3.2 The IMA Team will evaluate and analyse the completed questionnaire to form the scope of the assessment. 3.3 The IMA Team will review the relevant documentation relating to information management processes and procedures supplied by the organisation.

3.4 The IMA Team will conduct an evaluation of risks not limited to but impacting on information and knowledge management for the organisation to feed into the scope of the assessment.

4 IMA Programme Planning

4.1 The IMA Strategy covers a long-term period 2008-2013. Additional to the IMA strategy and providing the detail, is the annual published programme of organisations and their proposed dates to be assessed.

4.2 The annual published programme manages the majority of the business associated with conducting the IMA and ensures that adequate resources are scheduled to meet the programme.

4.3 The IMA programme will also incorporate the Information Commissioner’s (ICO) S.46 requests, as these are dependent on referral from the ICO’s office it may not be possible to provide an accurate forecast of when the assessment may be conducted.

4.4 Due to the nature of spot audits they will be programmed as and when IMA resources allow.

5 Documentation

5.1 In the conducting of both IMAs and S.46 Assessments the associated verification and assessment teams will use as far as practicable the IMA documentation templates supplied.

5.2 All documents relating to the visit will be collated, stored and disposed of as appropriate.

5.3 The final report will be available for the department/organisation to review for factual accuracy prior to submission to the Permanent Secretary or Executive Board.

5.4 Documentation prepared in the conducting of the S.46 assessment is subject to approval by the Information Commissioner’s Office.

6 Final Report and On-site Exit Meeting

6.1 The National Archives Standards and Assessment Manager (SAM) will endeavour to ensure that the IMA written report is objective and referenced to appropriate evidence researched during the life-cycle of the assessment and on-site visit.

6.2 Each report will contain recommendations for remedial action based on the findings of both the research and the on-site visits.

6.3 The National Archives Standards and Assessment Manager (SAM) will endeavour to ensure that the ICO’s S.46 written report is objective, referenced to appropriate evidence and with due care to the ICO’s Practice Recommendations. (This is in conjunction with the separate more detailed ICO S.46 Memorandum of Understanding between the ICO and The National Archives).

6.4 The SAM will ensure that they or their nominated representative conduct a final meeting with relevant Senior Managers and organisational representatives prior to leaving on-site on the final day.

6.5 The SAM will ensure that the draft verification/assessment report is sent to the department’s representative no later than four weeks after the on-site visit report or after the last documentation requested is received.

6.6 The organisation or department has a period of three weeks in which to provide a response regarding the factual accuracy of the report.

6.7 The final report will be sent to the relevant organisation or department’s representative to circulate internally.

6.8 At the completion of the relevant report the SAM and/or Head of Standards and/or Director of Information Policy and Standards will meet with the Executive Board Member if so requested.

6.9 On occasion the Chief Executive and Head of Standards or Director of Information Standards will meet with the relevant Permanent Secretary and/or Executive Board Member.

6.10 The final agreed report will be published on the IMA pages of The National Archives’ website within 10 working days.

7 Follow-up Assessments

7.1 All organisations or departments within the IMA will be incorporated into the ongoing IMA programme at intervals between 3-5 years which will be determined as part of the final report and evaluation stage. 8 **Ongoing Support**

8.1 The National Archives IMA Team, consisting of the relevant Information Management Consultant, the Standards & Assessment Manager and the Standards Adviser will monitor the resulting action plan out of the recommendations at six monthly intervals following the assessment/verification visit.

8.2 The National Archives RMCD Information Management Consultants will continue to liaise and provide advice and guidance on the application of the action plan.

8.3 The IMA Team and the Records Management and Cataloguing Department Information Management Consultants will meet regularly to update and discuss the IMA programme.

9 **Quality Assurance/Feedback**

9.1 The Standards and Assessment Manager will ensure that the quality of the documentation produced and the conduct of the on-site team(s) are maintained.

9.2 Methods employed to quality assure the process include, but are not limited to:

- Review of Team skills to identify appropriate training
- A review of a sample of documentation produced by assessment team members
- Ensure that all parts of this Service Level Agreement are adhered to.
- Obtain feedback from organisations or departments that have been assessed.
- Feedback from the on-site The National Archives IMA Team members.